Thaw
by Kari Twilight Mist
Summary: The mountain where spring begins is guarded by a spirit seeking love in exchange for spring. Mail is sent to plead with the spirit for the sake of his village. He is the only hope to create a thaw.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this chapter or story!**

**Anonymous reviews enabled!**

**I wrote this for a 2012 Spring competition in Guns & Games (an MxM club on Mangabullet) and it came in first! O_O**

Thaw

A young man awoke shivering in a hut in a village at the base of a mountain. He quickly got out of the small bundle of blankets he lay on and went to a small fireplace nearby. There were very few dry sticks left, and outside there was a terrible blizzard. With a groan he pulled on a vest of doeskin and went to a nearby wood pile outside. He grabbed as much as he could fit in his arms then brought it back in the hut. He would have to wait for it to dry before using it, shivering the whole time.

"Stupid Edelweiss," the young man bit out. Everyone in the village where he lived knew of the legend of Edelweiss. Edelweiss was a powerful deity that lured men into the mountains where they froze to death. It was said that every year their quest to summon their true love into the mountains failed and they went to rest and allowed spring to come, in hopes that other men would like the offerings they made to them for the rest of the year and seek them out come winter.

This year things had gone wrong, though. It was almost March and the snow came stronger than ever. The young man jumped at a knock on the door to his hut. He opened the door a bit then let in the woman outside.

The woman was pale white and had white hair, save for a bit of purple dyed in by berries. Half of her face was covered in bandages that hid one of her yellow eyes. The young man swallowed in fear as he saw her, Rem. She was the village seer of sorts, and when she came to someone specifically, it meant they were needed for a grave task. Few ever made it back, but all who went out managed to prevent a disaster she foretold.

He gestured towards a small stool next to the fireplace and she soundlessly sat. "Young Mail, I have a task for you. Edelweiss is in deep sorrow. They will only melt when they have found the one they seek. It seems they have lost patience with their normal game. Unfortunately, I cannot see who they desire. All I can see is you making it high up the mountain; Higher than any of the others. I need you to ask Edelweiss what they are seeking. Maybe then we can find someone suitable."

Mail shook slightly in fear. Even the suggestion of going up the mountain made him feel the urge to run far away. He opened his mouth to object but instead had a sack filled with provisions shoved in his hands. "The longer it takes you to go, the longer we all shall suffer. You should leave now. There is no time to waste."

With a deep gulp, Mail slung the bag over his shoulders then timidly stepped outside. As he slowly walked the path towards the mountain, he saw the other villagers peering through cracked doors or the occasional window at him. With each extra face, the pressure of completing his task grew heavier.

He reached the path at the base of the mountain. The climb ahead was steep and rocky. With all the snow, loose rocks would be hard to spot. He gulped then started walking. From what he remembered, the journey to the top took about three days. Of course that wasn't during the winter months. He felt his bag of provisions on his back and knew he didn't have enough for more than four days maximum by the heaviness.

The climb was just as dangerous as he suspected. After tripping over rocks he sat down on a cliff side to catch his breath. It was then he felt the ice beneath him shift, and only his reflexes to dive out of the way saved him from falling to his death down the mountain's edge. He managed to find a small crack in the side of the mountain and squeezed in to rest for the night. Out of his meager provisions he ate an old apple. It was the most perishable item and was already a bit rotten. Night soon fell and he shut his eyes. Just as he drifted off to sleep he could have sworn he heard the sound of sobbing.

When he woke up the wind was howling worse than before. He ate a few bits of bread to give himself a bit of strength then went back to climbing. The winds carried a small blizzard that made it impossible to see more than three feet in front of him. He gritted his teeth and stayed close to the rocky side nearby.

When night fell again he noticed there were no places to hide. He felt his stomach drop. _This is it. I'm dead. _But then he saw something moving ahead. The wind lessened a bit to reveal what looked like a half-frozen person walking towards him. Half of their face was blue. Their blonde hair fell to their shoulders and was covered in snow and ice. They wore a tattered vest of plain white cloth and ratty bluish pants. He noticed the person was barefoot. What struck him most, though, was their eyes. Their eyes seemed to be more frigid than the snow he was sure to die in. He opened his mouth but was unable to say anything.

The person held out a hand with blue fingers. "Come with me."

Mail swallowed thickly in fear. _A dead man wants me to follow him? I'm going to die anyway so why not?_ He reached out and grabbed the offered hand. It felt like shoving his fingers into freezing water.

The man turned while holding his hand and led him further on. Mail was tired and starving but kept following. Just when he was about to collapse from exhaustion the frozen man led him inside a cave. The cave was warm like his hut in summer. In it he saw there were some berry bushes and fruit-bearing trees. His stomach growled but he didn't ask for any food. He sensed the man leading him was supernatural. He figured making him mad could prove deadly, and he had just regained hope he would live.

The man let go of his hand and gestured to a rug of fur nearby. "Sit here. I will make some food." Mail immediately did. He fought to say awake as he waited but drifted off in spite of that. He woke up by being poked in his left bicep. He opened his eyes to see the man from before offering him a bowl of broth.

Mail held back a cringe as he saw what was once blue frozen skin was now gruesome and rotten with frostbite. He took the bowl and tried to avoid looking at she wounds. "Thank you." He gave the sprit a smile for good measure. The spirit cocked his head to the side then smiled a tiny bit. The action seemed very unpracticed.

The spirit moved to sit next to him. He didn't have any food for himself Mail noticed. Mail ate the broth and relished its warmth. "You're a good cook," he said when finished.

The spirit looked at its feet for a while, which Mail noticed were just as gruesome then. "Why have you come here?" it asked.

Mail scratched the back of his head with his right arm. "I've come to ask Edelweiss to stop the winter. My people are dying from cold and lack of food."

The spirit hung its head and its hair framed its face. "I can take you to Edelweiss, but I ask for something in return." He turned to face Mail and Mail saw his wound had gotten worse. "I ask for a kiss."

Mail froze. He saw the wounds and felt repulsed, but the spirit had been kind to him. It seemed the ugliness wasn't inside as well. Mail gently took the spirit's cheeks in his hands, while holding back a grimace at the feel of the wound, and kissed the spirit on the lips. When he pulled back he noticed the once-frigid eyes seemed to have thawed a bit.

The spirit looked stunned that he had followed through. He shakily stood and walked toward the outside of the cave. "Edelweiss is not far from here." Mail nodded and followed. They walked for a bit more until the spirit pointed to a cave up ahead. "Edelweiss is in there. I will take you."

When they got to the cave, though, all Mail saw was a small edelweiss flower in the center of the cave. "This isn't right. Edelweiss is looking for a lover. Last time I checked, flowers don't have desires like that."

He turned and saw the spirit looking at him. He looked horrible now; terribly ugly even in places that hadn't been wounded before. He fell as if he were dying. Mail ran to him and took him in his arms. "Spirit!" He shook the spirit to try and rouse it a bit.

"Mihael," he heard it say. "My name is Mihael." He gave Mail another unpracticed smile. "You foolish humans. You think the one seeking love is the sacred flower? No. It is the spirit of the mountain that harbors it."

Mail's eyes widened. "It's you," he breathed. Mihael nodded. Mihael opened his eyes a bit and Mail saw they were a warm turquoise. He saw the edelweiss behind him had spread from the center of the cave to the outside of it. Right before his eyes the snows melted and the flowers spread. "Spring!" He noticed Mihael barely nodded before going still. "No! No don't die! Don't die!" Mihael made no response even as Mail shook him. In a last ditch effort to save him, Mail kissed him again.

Suddenly, Mihael grew warm. His wounds faded and his clothes became fine silk. All the iciness left him and his cheeks glowed. He opened his eyes again and smiled bigger than ever. "Let me see your spring." Mail grinned and helped him stand.

As they went down the mountain, Mail saw the flowers looked more beautiful than ever. The fruits looked big and juicy. The animals seemed more plentiful. Each step further down the mountain showed even greater signs of life. Just as they reached the base when Mail had started his journey, Mihael touched a plot of earth and an edelweiss flower bloomed there.

The villagers went to see them return. They all looked at Mihael with awe. Rem went up to them and smiled. "I see you found the edelweiss, and its keeper." Mail squeezed Mihael's hand and nodded. She looked around the village and said happily, "Let us all celebrate our greatest spring!" The village rejoiced and held a feast. All the while, Mail held Mihael's hand, and they both took in the thawed land.


End file.
